Stocks finished up 1.5 percent or higher, sending the Dow back above 12,000, lifted by AT&T's $39 billion planned purchase of Deutsche Telecom's T-Mobile USA and investors who found buying opportunities in stocks they viewed as oversold. Boeing and Alcoa led Dow gainers, while Pfizer fell.

Stocks pared gains in the final hour of trading Monday, but remained significantly higher, buoyed by AT&T's $39 billion planned purchase of Deutsche Telecom's T-Mobile USA and buying opportunities in oversold stocks. Boeing and GE led gainers, while Pfizer fell.

On the day that coffee giant Starbucks announced the partnership with single-serve provider Green Mountain, Starbucks CEO and chairman Howard Schultz, stopped short of saying how much investors could expect from the arrangement, but called it a “major opportunity,” whose economics would be accreted next year.

Stocks closed near session lows, and below psychologiclaly important levels, as global worries triggered by European sovereign debt and a slowing in Chinese growth escalated after news of violence against protesters in Saudia Arabia. Caterpillar and Exxon led decliners, while McDonald's rose.

Stocks closed down, although off the lows of the day, as tech stocks dragged down the market amid high oil prices and continued turmoil in the Middle East. Alcoa and Intel sank, while McDonald's gained.

Stocks eased losses in the final hour of trading, although remained lower, as tech stocks fell particularly hard amid high oil prices and continued turmoil in the Middle East. Alcoa and Intel fell, while 3M rose.

Washington Post columnist John Pomfret argues the recent test flight of the J-20 stealth fighter just hours before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with Chinese President Hu Jintao was a blunt challenge by the military establishment to Hu's power. Pomfret surmises there is chaos within China's political circles because it appeared to Gates that Hu did not know of the test. Pomfret's hypothesis would certainly be a scary if true.

After talking to analysts and industry insiders, it’s clear the true potential impact of rising food costs on the bottom line and the prospects of unexpectedly higher gas prices on the top line have not yet been fully factored into the stocks.